


The Arrangement

by scarletsaber (sushibunny)



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arranged Marriage, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff and Humor, Haru Still Isn't Having It, Haru's Parents Mean Well, M/M, Makoto (Reluctantly) to the Rescue!, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Season 2 with a Bit of a Twist
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-09
Updated: 2016-10-26
Packaged: 2018-08-20 08:25:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8242777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sushibunny/pseuds/scarletsaber
Summary: When Haru's parents announced they had arranged for him to marry a girl he'd never met after he graduated from high school, he decided he needed to do something about that.Maybe he should have come up with a better plan than pretending Makoto was his boyfriend- especially without telling Makoto about it first.





	1. The Visit

**Author's Note:**

> So here I am starting another story while I still have two already in progress… I would like to blame keepleaves for yet again being an enabler. This is all your fault, I hope you’re happy ;)
> 
> In order for this to work within the S2 timeline, I’m going to presume that Iwatobi celebrates Obon in August- along with the rest of Japan- and have Haru’s parents live in Tokyo, which celebrates Obon in July. So this story will be starting off mid July of S2; assume everything occurs normally in canon unless otherwise stated. Since Free! is not exactly forthcoming about when things are happening calendar-wise, I’m going to say this takes place after ep 8. (If anyone actually knows of a timeline though, fanmade or not, I would super love to know about it so I can better fit everything!)

Haru would generally describe his visits with his parents as “tolerable” or “manageable”; not the ideal words most people would use to refer to family members they rarely saw, he knew, but he had long ago come to terms with the situation. It suited him just fine, in fact, seeing his parents only a few times a year, usually at New Years and Obon. He had grown used to being on his own- it suited his independent personality- and frankly he preferred the way things were now to what they might have been had his parents stayed; or worse, had they forced him to move to Tokyo with them. No, visiting the large, overcrowded city once a year was more than enough for Haru.

But this visit- this visit he would use other words to characterize.

Words like “absolutely insane” or just simply “no.” Because those were the words running through his mind as he stared, frozen in shock at his parents from across the table in their apartment.

“...What?”

His mother sighed, as if his wide-eyed request for her to repeat the completely outlandish thing she had just said was somehow unreasonable. “Honestly, Haruka. Please pay attention! I was saying your father and I have decided that this is really in your best interest. You live all alone in that old house by yourself- did you plan to continue doing that for the rest of your life?”

_Does it matter? Why is everyone so concerned with my future?_

“And you were never very good at making- or keeping- friends. Besides Makoto-kun of course. But you can’t go through life always relying on him to help you through social situations. A smart boy like him will surely be going off to college next year; what will you do then?”

His gut twisted at that revelation, an icy chill slowly filling him. Haru had been doing his best to ignore what would happen after high school, what would happen to Makoto, to their unchanging relationship and how it would surely no longer be so after graduation. And there his mother was, forcing him to consider it.

It hurt, deep down inside.

His mother continued, however, taking no notice of her son’s internal suffering. “You would never be able to fulfill normal social obligations on your own, let alone find yourself a good wife.”

His father hummed in agreement, silently sipping at his tea.

Haru felt the sick feeling spread, threatening to overwhelm him as his mother kept talking.

“So that’s why your father and I decided to arrange a marriage for you.”

As the words washed over him a second time, he felt an almost numb feeling encompass his body. He supposed it was an obvious subsequent step from the cold that had spread through him earlier. That was what happened when you experienced physical cold after all; why wouldn’t it be the same with whatever this emotional equivalent was?

He tuned out as his mother- and occasionally father- droned on about his supposed “perfect match,” and how she was the daughter of one of his father’s coworkers, from a good family, with good social skills and ambitions- the perfect contrast to Haru himself. He absorbed none of it. No, all Haru could think about was how _wrong_ the entire idea felt, though he couldn’t say why, not even to himself.

He knew arranged marriages were still a thing that happened in Japan, even if they were much rarer nowadays. Haru had never expected his parents to make one for him, however. His dislike of contemplating his future career plans paled in comparison to his utter distaste for the subject of his future domestic life- though again, he didn’t know why. The idea of coming home to a wife and tons of children after a- surely not free- day of work left a bitter taste in his mouth, it always had.

But his parents would never accept “it’s not free enough” as a reason to call the ridiculous thing off. Haru would need something convincing, something his parents couldn’t argue against in order to call off his marriage to some poor girl who was probably just as thrilled at the idea of marrying some stranger as he was. He uselessly wished Makoto was there with him; he was always good at these sorts of things- not getting out of arranged marriages, of course, but dealing with adults.

Haru wracked his brain, trying to come up with something, anything that would make it impossible for _him_ to marry _her_. _Wait, that’s it._

“I can’t,” Haru abruptly said- forcing the frown that had been on his face since the entire ‘discussion’ had begun to fall into his usual neutral expression- and interrupting whatever his mother had been saying about grandchildren.

“You can’t what, Haruka?” his mother inquired, frowning at him. “You don’t need to worry about having children anytime soon, of course. The wedding wouldn’t be until you were both of age and-”

“I can’t marry her,” he clarified, steeling himself for what was surely going to be an ill-received announcement- true or not.

“And why not?” his father asked, voice firm and offering no room for argument- though Haru wasn’t about to let that deter him, not this time.

“I can’t marry any girl.” Haru made sure he looked both of them in the eye to really sell it. “I’m gay.”

His father’s eyes narrowed and his mother frowned, but they made no outburst. It was going better than Haru had expected already. _Maybe I’ll get out of this whole thing easily after all_.

“Really.” His mother’s tone was the definition of skeptical.

_Or maybe not._

“Mm.”

“And who is your boyfriend then?” she inquired, eyebrow raised and lips pursed. “Surely you have one, then, if you know you are gay and can’t marry this girl.”

“I do.” The words defensively tumbled from his lips before he could stop them.

Well, surely it wouldn’t hurt to further the idea of him being gay by having a pretend boyfriend, right? It could only help his cause, surely- make it more believable. And if the way his parents were looking at him as if they knew he was lying was any indication, he would need to use anything and everything he possibly could to convince them.

“Who is it?” His father repeated the question, eyes searching Haru’s face, looking for any crack in Haru’s stoic demeanor to indicate a lie.

And Haru told them the first name that came to him, a kind smile flashing through his mind as the name left his mouth.

“Makoto.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Haru, I can't see how this won't end well!
> 
> This should be a fairly lighthearted story (unless it gets away from me) full of Makoto and Haru being oblivious about their feelings for each other; my fave ;)
> 
> Please let me know what you think!


	2. The Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto comes to visit and Haru comes clean.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited 10/27/16- Slight alteration regarding the layout of Haru's house; nothing plot related, don't worry ;)

Makoto took the steps two at a time as he hurried up to Haru’s, eager to welcome his friend back home. Well, not that he could really welcome Haru back to his own house- more like back to Iwatobi. Makoto knew he shouldn’t- didn’t need to, of course- but he couldn’t help but worry whenever Haru went away to visit his parents. It wasn’t even so much that he was worried for his friend’s safety, though he did have a habit of checking the weather reports before each of Haru’s flights; it was more for his… wellbeing.

Despite what Haru said about the topic of his parents- which was predictably almost nothing- Makoto could tell how much each trip weighed on his best friend. Haru would return home quieter than usual every time, almost sullen, and it worried him. Of course most people wouldn’t notice the difference in Haru’s demeanor, and Haru would tell Makoto- often- that there was none. But Makoto knew Haru better than anyone else- at least he hoped so- and he could tell.

And no matter how much Haru asked him- insisted, really- not to worry, Makoto couldn’t help it.

Which is why he practically ran up the stairs between their homes, clutching the container of mackerel curry his mother had made upon Makoto’s request. It was one of Haru’s favorites, and he hoped it would help cheer him up. Maybe even bring about one of Haru’s rare smiles.

Makoto always felt especially happy and warm whenever he was the cause of one.

He gave a perfunctory ring of the front doorbell, waiting only a moment before heading around to the back, already knowing he would have to let himself in. After all, it was only ten in the morning on a Sunday; why would he expect Haru to be out of the bath already? Clearly the fact that he had arrived back home earlier that morning held no sway over his bathing habits.

“Haru! I’m coming in,” he called out to the seemingly empty house as he opened the ever-unlocked back door.

Makoto made a quick detour to the kitchen, setting the tupperware on the counter before he went to fish his friend from the bath. No surprise, Haru’s clothes were right where he expected in the basket, and Makoto only gave a small sigh of resignation before heading into the bathroom.

It only took a few moments for Haru to finally breach the surface of the water and acknowledge him, familiar look of displeasure at being separated from the water in place.

“Good morning, Haru-chan. How was your trip?” Makoto asked, arm extended as he smiled down at Haru.

“No -chan. And fine,” Haru groused, gripping the proffered hand and letting himself be pulled from the bath.

“How are your parents?” Makoto watched as Haru moved around the room, drying off before heading towards the kitchen, obviously intending to go make breakfast- or would it be lunch? He noted Haru stiffening slightly and pausing when his parents were mentioned, but that was really nothing new. Unfortunately. “Ah, my mom made mackerel curry last night, I brought you some,” Makoto added as he followed Haru through the house, in an attempt to both soothe his friend as well as waylay his inevitable plans of grilling mackerel.

Makoto almost ran into Haru when he stopped abruptly at the door to the living room. Haru tilted his head slightly back towards Makoto, a familiar gleam in his eyes at the mention of his favorite fish.

“...Tell her thank you.”

Makoto’s eyes widened for a moment before he smiled, eyes crinkling shut in mirth when Haru hurried off towards the kitchen again. “Of course, Haru!”

He waited at the table as Haru heated up the food- apron over his jammers as usual- wordlessly accepting the plate and tea that was offered to him, knowing Haru wouldn’t listen to any refusal on his part. He watched with fond amusement as Haru dug into his plate wholeheartedly, obviously quite pleased with the gift. Loathe as he was to ruin the mood, he knew he had to ask Haru about the trip. If he didn’t Haru would just end up internalizing everything- as usual- and Makoto hated seeing him like that. If there was any way he could help, he had to at least try.

“So… Did you do anything fun with your parents?” Makoto asked tentatively, subtly peering up at Haru while pretending to focus on his meal.

Haru paused, chopsticks poised over a chunk of fish. There was a long moment where Makoto could tell Haru was debating between answering or finishing eating and ignoring the question before he chose the former. Makoto was a little worried at that. If Haru was choosing to speak- especially about his parents- over mackerel, then _something_ must have happened during the visit.

“I… They told me… It’s…”

Makoto stared intently as Haru struggled to put his thoughts into words. It wasn’t unusual for Haru to put a lot of effort into deciding what to say, but usually he did so before opening his mouth. To see him struggle with his words out loud was a bit… unnerving, to say the least.

“Haru? Did something happen?” He watched Haru carefully, noting how he refused to meet Makoto’s eyes. He frowned. Haru was clearly distressed about something having to do with the visit and he would never forgive himself if he made it worse by prying. “It’s okay, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. Just know that you always can if you want to. Talk about it. With me, I mean.”

“No,” Haru said quickly, head snapping up and eyes finally meeting Makoto’s. “I mean, I don’t want to, really. But I need to. Have to tell you.”

“...Okay,” Makoto said slowly, warily, as he eyed Haru. “Are you alright? Are your parents alright?”

Haru sighed, dropping his eyes to the table as he idly poked at his food with his chopsticks. “I’m fine. They’re fine- probably a bit displeased, now, but they’ll get over it.”

“Haru…?”

Another sigh. “It’s nothing. They just wanted me to get married.”

Makoto had sometimes wondered if the saying ‘so quiet you could hear a pin drop’ was a real thing and not just an exaggeration; now he could confirm it was definitely an accurate descriptor as he swore the sound was sucked right out of the room at Haru’s words. “... _What_?” he eventually squeaked out after what felt like an eternity of just _staring_ at a seemingly bored Haru.

“It’s fine now though, I got out of it... Kind of.”

“Haru!” Makoto rarely raised his voice, and especially not at his best friend, but that moment was an exception. “What on Earth are you talking about?! They want you to get married?! Why?! To who?! When?!”

Haru rolled his eyes before answering and Makoto had to grip the sides of the table to keep himself from reaching across to shake his friend.

“My parents arranged a marriage for me. Because they don’t think I can find someone on my own or something. The daughter of someone my father works with. When I’m an adult, I guess,” Haru said matter-of-factly, as if the topic was as mundane as the weather, answering each question in turn. “And I told you, it doesn’t matter. I got out of it. Mostly.”

“Haru, it does matter!”

Makoto felt like he was losing his mind. Was this what going crazy felt like? This was worse than that time Nagisa had convinced them all that Gou-chan had wanted them to come to practice in wetsuits for “special training.” Her clear displeasure at being unable to have an unobstructed view of their muscles- and placing all the blame for it on him as captain- coupled with Nagisa’s raucous laughter, Rei’s impromptu calculations about drag and resistance or something- Makoto had quickly tuned him out- and Haru’s complaints about the wetsuit not having the “right fit” had given him a headache and a sense of confusion on par with what he was currently experiencing. And Makoto was definitely not a fan.

He shook his head as he tried to clear his thoughts, focusing on what Haru had said. “You keep saying that too! ‘Mostly,’ ‘kind of.’ What does that even mean? How are you ‘mostly’ not getting married?!” he demanded, trying his best to catch Haru’s eye, but having no luck.

“...It means I convinced them I couldn’t marry her.”

Makoto opened his mouth to reply but the guilty look that flashed across Haru’s face made him rethink his words. “...How, exactly, did you convince them?”

“...I told them I was gay.”

“WHAT?!”

Haru looked up at him finally, narrowing his eyes before huffing, “I told my parents I couldn’t marry a girl because I didn’t like girls, Makoto.”

Makoto mirrored the look, not pleased with Haru’s sass at a time like this. “I _know_ what it _means_ , Haru. I was just surprised you would say that!” It took him a moment before something clicked in his mind and he tilted his head to the side thoughtfully, looking at Haru in a questioning manner. “...Are you?”

Haru’s eyes widened in clear surprise at the question. There was a long pause before he finally answered. “Dunno. Never really thought about it before.”

Makoto was torn between laughing and being utterly exasperated. It was such a Haru thing to say. He honestly wasn’t surprised that Haru had never thought about his sexual orientation before. Makoto had never really pictured Haru as the dating or relationship type- unless you could date water, then Haru would probably be married already. And Haru just never seemed really interested in that sort of thing, always more focused on things like swimming and mackerel. Makoto wasn’t sure if maybe Haru was just a late bloomer or if he would never be interested in such things, though he hoped his friend would one day find someone he wanted to spend the rest of his life with; the alternative just seemed so lonely to him.

He eyed Haru across the table, his friend seeming lost in thought as Makoto’s own thoughts wandered to himself. He had never thought to put a label on his own sexuality before either, but now maybe he should? Makoto had grown up just assuming he would end up like his parents, married with a wife and children; he definitely wanted children. But a wife… The figure in his future fantasies was never very specific, though the person always had dark hair- like half the people Makoto knew, of course. But as to gender…

Now that he thought about it, Makoto didn’t find the abstract idea of having a husband any less appealing than having a wife. Did that mean he was gay? But he did notice pretty girls, so maybe he wasn’t? Makoto took a mental inventory of everyone he knew. There were plenty of girls he had felt what he knew was attraction to at school. Heck, he would admit Gou-chan was attractive- not to Rin, of course- not that he would ever consider dating her. But then again along that same line, he thought Rin was just as attractive too, along with a lot of other boys he knew. Could you like both boys and girls?

Makoto was roused from his mini identity crisis by the sound of Haru’s chopsticks once again scraping along his dish. Haru looked almost… nervous, and Makoto realized he must have been silent longer than he had thought. He needed to reassure his friend.

“Well, it doesn’t matter either way,” he suddenly blurted, gaining Haru’s attention, blue eyes meeting his. “I mean, it _does_ matter, since it’s part of who you are. But I don’t care if you are. Well, I _care_ , I mean, of course I do, because it’s Haru. I don’t… mind? Is that right? I mean-”

“I know what you mean, Makoto,” Haru said, corners of his lips curling slightly in amusement. “And thanks.”

Makoto beamed at him, making Haru turn his head to the side in embarrassment. “Whoever you like, Haru is still Haru.” He chuckled lightly when he noticed the tips of Haru’s ears turn pink, a muttered “ _stupid Makoto_ ” just reaching his ears. He almost let the entire subject drop when a thought occurred to him. “Wait. Haru. You _lied_ to your parents?”

Haru gave him a look, as if Makoto was the one being ridiculous in this situation. “So?”

“Haru! They’re your parents! You shouldn’t lie to them!” Makoto scolded, frowning as Haru rolled his eyes. “It’s wrong!”

“So is forcing someone to marry.”

“Well, er, I suppose you’re right. But still! Couldn’t you have thought of something else?”

Makoto wasn’t really surprised when all he received was a blank stare. Honestly, he hadn’t really expected anything else from Haru- in reply or as a response to his parents. Such a rash ‘plan’ of action was just so… Haru. Though he still wasn’t a fan of the whole lying business. Makoto would never lie to his parents like that. Then again, he supposed his relationship with his own parents was a far cry from that of Haru’s with his; he probably shouldn’t judge his friend so harshly.

He sighed before he spoke again, thoughts about Haru’s parents prompting another question. “Haru… If you don’t mind me asking… What did your parents say when you, er, told them that?”

Haru’s eyes widened and he flushed again, ducking his head to avoid Makoto’s searching gaze. “...They- they assumed I was dating someone.”

Makoto’s heart suddenly seized up at that, though he didn’t know why. “...Did you say you were?”

“...Yes.”

Makoto wasn’t sure why he felt unseasonably cold suddenly. “Who did you say?” he asked slowly, wishing he hadn’t as soon as the words left his mouth. A niggling thought popped up that he already knew the answer. Red hair and a sharp-toothed grin flashed through his mind and the idea sunk like a lead weight to the bottom of his stomach. It was probably just because the idea of Haru dating anyone was so weird and foreign, surely. And it’s not like it was real, anyway. Not that it mattered if Haru did want to date Rin, if he was even gay to begin with. So it didn’t matter if Haru had picked Rin as his fake boyfriend. Of course not.

“...You.”

Once again Makoto was stunned to silence. He was beginning to wonder if maybe he should just cut his losses and call it a day. “...Me?” He hadn’t heard his voice crack that badly since middle school, and he self consciously cleared his throat before trying again. “Me? You told your parents… You were dating… _Me_?”

“...Mm.”

Makoto staunchly ignored the confusing rush of warmth emanating from his chest. “... _Why_?”

Haru shrugged, still refusing to meet Makoto’s eyes. “You were the first person I thought of.”

Makoto covered his face with his hands, confused about why his entire face felt like it was on fire, yet he simultaneously felt… _pleased_. It was probably just a weird extension of his jealousy of Rin’s ability to swim with Haru on a different level than he could; though it was admittedly an odd manifestation… “Wait. So your parents think we’re _dating_?”

“...Mm.”

“Haru~! Why would you tell them that?!” All joy at being Haru’s chosen decoy vanished as another thought came to mind. “Oh god, what if they tell _my parents_? _Haru_!”

Haru noticeable winced, clearly not having considered that at the time. “...There’s more.”

“There’s- there’s _more_?”

Makoto briefly debated the likelihood that this was all a dream, actually going so far as to pinch his arm, yelping slightly at the pain- and whimpering when he didn’t wake up. Haru shot him an unimpressed look, clearly having correctly interpreted his actions. Makoto didn’t even feel bad for glaring back at him.

“ _What else is there, Haru_?” he grit out, heavy stare not allowing Haru to look away.

“...They want to see us together, to prove that we’re really dating.”

Why couldn’t this be a dream? Makoto would rather this was part of his twisted, unconscious mind and that nightmare he had had the other night about the human-sized Iwatobi-chan chasing him into the old run down swim club at night had been real instead; at least he could have run away from that.

“Haru… When?” Makoto asked cautiously, eyes narrowed.

Haru shifted uncomfortably. “New Years. When they come visit.”

Makoto clamped his mouth shut on the outburst he wanted to let out and forced himself to breath. New Years was about five and a half months away. That was a long time. Makoto would never be able to keep this sort of thing from his parents for that long. But wait… “Okay. Well, how about we tell them we broke up before then?”

Haru’s eyes went wide with worry. “Makoto, no. They won’t believe it if they don’t see it for themselves. They barely bought it as it is.”

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t have lied about it!” Makoto snapped, frustration getting the better of him.

“Well, maybe I didn’t want to marry some stranger I had never met!” Haru retorted, glaring at Makoto, yet the pain in his eyes was clear- to someone who knew him as well as Makoto, at least.

“Haru…” Makoto sighed, immediately feeling guilty about his outburst. “I’m sorry, Haru. I can’t imagine what that feels like.”

Haru looked away, but not before Makoto could see his face slowly draining of emotion; a clear sign that he was cutting himself off. “It’s alright. It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have dragged you into this. I’m sorry too.”

Makoto instinctively reached across the table, covering the hand Haru had left flat on the surface with his own, trying to comfort him. When Haru finally met his gaze again he smiled reassuringly. “Hey, it’s okay. We’ll figure something out.”

His words didn’t comfort Haru, though, as his expression remained as helpless as before- though he made no move to retrieve his hand. “There’s no use. They were very clear. If they don’t see evidence that I’m gay they’re going to know I lied and the wedding will go on.”

“Haru…” Makoto didn’t usually think ill of his elders as a rule, but to do such a thing to your own son, to demand proof of something like that…

“Makoto.” Haru’s eyes were more watery than usual as he looked at Makoto, and it made Makoto’s heart ache. “ _Please_.”

 _Please pretend to be my boyfriend until after New Years_ was the unspoken rest of that sentence, yet Makoto understood it as well as if Haru had said it aloud. Something shifted inside of him as he stared back into deep blue eyes, and he squeezed the hand underneath his before he spoke.

“Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, they should have an interesting five and a half months ahead of them...
> 
> I actually finished this chapter a few days ago, but I wanted to pace the posting at least a week apart. I wish I could guarantee more prompt updates in the future, but if I do that I will inevitably jinx myself and be unable to meet expectations. So I'm just going to do my best and hope my inspiration keeps up! Let me know what you think :)


	3. The Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haru and Makoto come up with a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited 10/27/16- Slight alteration to the ending (as I forgot Haru was still just in jammers and an apron...).

“I don't see how you think this is going to work,” Makoto said from where he stood in the kitchen doorway. Haru could feel those green eyes following him as he put everything from their meal back in order. “I mean, I promised I'd help you, Haru, and I will. But I don't know how we're going to pull this off. It's almost six months- that's a long time to fake a relationship!”

Haru finally turned around, shrugging as he met Makoto's apprehensive look. “I don't know why you're so worried. It’s not really that bad.”

“...You know what you’re asking me to do right?”

Slowly raising a brow Haru gave Makoto his most incredulous look. Of course he knew, they were just talking about it, weren’t they?

Makoto gave a long, slightly strangled sigh. “You want me to meet with your parents, who I've known my entire life, who have known _me_ my entire life, and you want me to _lie_ to them and convince them that we're _dating_?”

“Yes…”

“Haru you know how bad I am at lying!”

“...You can get better.”

“ _Haru_.”

Haru winced, knowing Makoto had a point. His friend was an _awful_ liar. And considering this whole plan pretty much revolved around them lying- a lot- they might be in a bit of trouble.

“Though I guess I don’t have much of a choice, now do I?” Makoto asked, sounding resigned. Haru wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

“Nothing has to change though. It’s only one day,” Haru said in an attempt to be reassuring; one that clearly failed if the disbelieving look currently on Makoto’s face was any indication.

“‘Nothing’- ‘one day’... You're not serious, are you?”

Haru let his deadpan expression speak for himself.

“Oh my god you are! _Haru_! How can-” Makoto cut himself off with a groan before taking what Haru knew from experience to be a calming deep breath. “Haru. You do realize that our parents still talk, right? And if they hadn't before they certainly will after your brilliant plan.”

Haru unconsciously flinched at the dig. Makoto was right, he knew that. It was an awful idea, he realized that now. But it still hurt to hear Makoto point that out.

Makoto must have noticed his discomfort- of course he did- because he suddenly looked guilty, slouching down against the doorframe, unconsciously making himself smaller as he always did whenever he felt bad. “Sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I'm just frustrated. And worried. What I meant was your parents are going to call my parents for confirmation about this whole dating thing. I just hope they haven't already. And if my parents don't tell them we are, then there is no more plan.”

Haru frowned. It was annoying how much sense Makoto made. He opened his mouth to reply only to be cut off by Makoto.

“And no, they wouldn't lie for us, so don't even bother asking, Haru.”

Haru turned his head away. He definitely had not been thinking that, thank you very much.

“Stop pouting, Haru. We have to figure this out before your parents call mine.”

Haru have an indignant scoff. He was most certainly not pouting, though he made sure to relax the muscles around his mouth before he turned back to Makoto, frowning at the knowing look on his friend's face. “Fine. What do you suggest?”

Makoto looked thoughtful for a moment before he answered. “Well, if you're really stuck on this whole pretending to date thing-” Haru grunted in affirmation- “then we'll have to tell my parents we're dating.”

Haru thought Makoto looked a little ill when he said that. He was torn between being offended- what was wrong with dating him?- and feeling guilty that he had dragged his best friend into his problems. Until Makoto continued talking, at least.

“I really don't want to lie to them,” he said with a sigh, looking utterly defeated. It made Haru's chest ache. “But for Haru… For Haru I will.”

Makoto said it with such determination that Haru couldn't help the swelling of pride and affection he felt for his friend- nor the blush that threatened to take over his face. And then a sharp sting of guilt for thinking the worst of Makoto earlier followed. Of course Makoto was just feeling terrible about having to lie to his parents. It had nothing to do with Haru, except for him being the cause of his friend's pain. That thought hurt too. He would make it up to Makoto, somehow, he promised himself.

Before Haru could say anything, Makoto was talking again, attempting to formulate a plan.

“I guess we can tell them that we just started dating recently… A couple weeks ago or something, but we didn’t want to tell anyone until we got used to it. Unless you told your parents something specific…?”

Haru looked away, attempting to fight the heat crawling across his face as he remembered exactly how the conversation with his parents about Makoto had gone.

_“I knew it.”_

_Haru blinked at his mother, all his fierce determination fading into confusion at her reaction._

_“I always told you, those two were too close to be just friends,” his mother said to his father, nudging him in the arm until he made a noise of acknowledgement before going back to sipping his tea. “Still, you’ll have to come see us together. So we can see the nature of your relationship for ourselves.”_

_Apparently, despite her precognitive knowledge of his and Makoto’s (fake) relationship- which Haru had yet to decide how to feel about- his mother still wasn’t completely sold on the idea that he was gay and dating his lifelong best friend. He couldn’t really blame her, as none of that was true, but it still rankled him that his parents would demand proof from him. When had he lied to them- before now, of course- that had given them reason to mistrust him so?_

_“I guess.” Haru reluctantly agreed, seeing no other alternative. He was already anticipating the ‘fun’ conversation he would be having with Makoto when he got home._

_“Hmm, how about before your Fall classes start?” his mother asked, pursing her lips as she looked off into space, presumably mentally going through her and Haru’s father’s schedule._

_Haru’s eyes widened in dread. That was much too soon. Hell, he’d probably need those few months to convince Makoto to pretend to be his boyfriend for the visit. Plus there was just so much going on with the swim team and school right now… Okay, he could use that. “It’s senior year,” Haru said, shaking his head. “We’re going to be very busy. Makoto is very serious about academics, he wouldn’t want to miss study time on a trip to Tokyo.” At least that part was true; Makoto had already been hounding Haru about grades and future plans. He really wished everyone would just give it a rest already. “And his parents wouldn’t want him to, either,” he added as an afterthought, hoping it would help sway his parents away from the idea._

_“Hmm… I suppose you’re right,” his mother hummed thoughtfully, searching his face. Haru keep his usual stoic expression in place. Not finding anything she sighed. “I suppose we can wait until we come visit you at New Years. There’s no reason you can’t both see us then. Right, Haruka?”_

_“Mm.”_

_There was no getting out of it, clearly. But New Years- New Years was far enough away he could definitely convince Makoto to do this favor for him by then. Maybe he could play it off as a Christmas present._

_“Good. Well then. We should get ready for dinner, hmm?”_

Haru gave Makoto a quick sidelong glance before looking back away. “They didn’t ask for any specifics. I just told them we were together.”

“Oh. Well, that’s good, I guess.” Makoto attempted a smile, but Haru could tell it was clearly strained. It made his chest hurt again. “We don’t have to worry about matching a story, then. Uh, so, um, Haru… You know my parents- well, of course you do. I mean, you know how they are; they’re going to want to know exactly how we got together- how we went from being friends to… b-boyfriends.”

Haru didn’t need to look over at Makoto to know his friend was bright red; he knew his own face was probably a shade to match by the way it was heating up. “Can’t we just say we got together? What else do we need?”

“Haru, seriously? I know you’ve watched those romcoms Rin loves to pick for movie nights too. You know someone _always_ asks how a couple got together.”

Haru rolled his eyes. “This isn’t a movie.”

Makoto frowned back. “No, but can you honestly stand there and tell me that you don’t think either of my parents- or my siblings, because you know they’re going to hear about it too, Haru- you don’t think any of them will ask how it happened? How we went from being friends since we were babies to suddenly dating? Really?”

Okay, maybe Makoto had a point there. Not that Haru was going to admit it. Though the smirk that curled up the corner of Makoto’s mouth at Haru’s silence told him Makoto knew already.

“Fine. Just tell them I asked you and you said ‘yes.’ That’s enough,” Haru muttered, turning to head into the living room to sit down.

“Hey!” Makoto called, footsteps sounding dully on the tatami as he hurried to follow Haru. “How come you get to be the one who asked?”

Haru turned with a raised brow. “You want to be the one to ask? You really think you’d do that?”

Makoto stopped abruptly in his tracks, mouth opening and closing as he struggled to put his thoughts together. “Well, I mean, I suppose it doesn’t matter who asked, since it’s not real- I just meant why do you automatically get to be the one who did?” Makoto suddenly frowned as the rest of Haru’s words registered. “And hey! What do you mean by that?! Why couldn’t I be the one to ask?!”

Shaking his head as he sat down at the low table, Haru leveled his gaze on Makoto. “You’re not the type.”

“What does _that_ mean?” Makoto demanded, sitting down heavily on a cushion beside him, eyes narrowed.

“You’ve never asked anyone out before, so…”

“Neither have you!”

“But I could.”

“Oh really! And I couldn’t?”

“Mm.”

“Haru! I could ask someone out! Better than you, I’m sure.”

Haru huffed a laugh, amused as Makoto became further irritated by the soft sound.

“Oh yeah? What did you do then, during this supposed grand confession of yours that had me falling all over myself for you? Was it over a romantic mackerel and toast breakfast, or maybe when I pulled you out of the tub in your jammers while we were late for school again?”

Haru’s eyes narrowed. Those all sounded like fine ideas to him, but something about the tone of Makoto’s voice and his narrowed eyes told him Makoto hadn’t meant it that way. “...What’s wrong with mackerel?” he chose to asked defensively, prepared to defend his favored fish if need be.

Makoto took a deep breath, eyes squinting at Haru and mouth opened wide to reply, when the corner of his mouth suddenly started to twitch and he broke out into loud laughter. Haru watched in confusion as Makoto doubled over, clearly very amused by something Haru didn’t understand. It took a good two minutes for him to calm down enough to speak again and by that time Haru was looking at him as if Makoto was crazy.

“Sorry, sorry,” Makoto managed to get out in between laughs, wide grin taking over his face. Haru felt his heartbeat pick up at the sight. Makoto smiling was much better than Makoto looking worried. “I just… That’s such a Haru thing to do.”

He frowned, not really understanding what Makoto meant, but not upset by it either. How could anything that made those familiar green eyes shine with so much mirth be bad? “Whatever.” he said, turning his head away to the sound of Makoto’s chuckles.

“Alright, if Haru wants to be the one to fake confess, that’s fine,” Makoto said, smiling as he shook his head. “Though can we please come up with a better scenario?”

“Why?” Haru huffed. This was turning out to be so much work already, why add more unnecessary things? Maybe if he had known how much trouble this would be, he never would have lied in the first place. _No, that's not true_. The uneasy feeling in his gut at the thought of just going along with the arranged marriage instead told him that any amount of work he had to put into this charade would be preferable.

“Because people are less likely to question something if there’s a good story behind it,” Makoto said, sounding practical, as usual. “Like… like how Nagisa convinced me his parents were taking him away to Pangea,” Makoto admitted with a cringe, turning away from the smirk on Haru’s face. “If he hadn’t made up an entire story about it, I wouldn’t have just believed him.”

“Are you sure?” Haru teased, bumping shoulders with Makoto.

Makoto sighed, looking at the floor. “I’m not an idiot, Haru. I never would have bought it if he hadn’t worked himself- and me- up so much and sounded so convincing. You can call it being gullible or naive if you want, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing that I trust my friends so much that I take the things they tell me as the truth.”

Haru’s smirk dropped and he leaned against Makoto again, not pulling away this time. “Hey. I don’t think it’s bad that you believe in people either.”

“Thanks, Haru.”

“Though you really shouldn’t. People are awful.”

“Haru~”

Haru hid a smile against Makoto’s shoulder before pulling back, meeting Makoto’s own grin for a long moment, the two of them just looking into each other’s eyes in comfortable silence. Haru wasn’t sure when his stomach started to feel strange and loopy whenever Makoto looked at him with that gentle look in his eyes, but the feeling was definitely making an appearance now. In an attempt to make it stop, Haru slid his eyes away, breaking their gaze and turning the silence heavy.

“I… I guess we should decide what else to include in our story,” Makoto said after clearing his throat, moving his eyes to stare at the blank tv screen across from them. “So we can be ready for any questions.”

Haru hummed in reply, still unable to look back at Makoto again for some reason.

“How about… Oh! Remember a few weeks ago when I came over to study during the weekend and you made green curry?”

Haru made an affirmative noise when the silence continued on, Makoto clearly waiting for him to respond.

“Well, how about you confessed then? That would be perfect!”

Haru chanced a glance over at Makoto again, pleased to note the weird tension between them had disappeared. “Why?”

Makoto gave him a patient look, one that Haru recognized as the one he adopted whenever Haru was missing some social cue or obvious thing most people would understand without question but Makoto would need to explain to Haru. He found it didn’t annoy him as much as make him feel grateful he had someone like Makoto who cared enough to do those sorts of things for him instead of just getting frustrated with him; but Makoto had always been that way with him, hadn’t he? Filling in Haru’s gaps. And Haru did the same in return, making up for Makoto’s own shortcomings with his strengths. He supposed they balanced each other out in that way. It was a nice thought, and it made him feel warm all over.

“Because you making my favorite meal and then confessing to me when we’re alone at night is romantic. Ah, I mean, the _situation_ is romantic! Not- UM, a-and it’s half true- you did make green curry that night, which made me happy- and they say the best lies are rooted in truth. Or something like that…”

Haru watched Makoto stumble through his explanation with curiosity. Why was Makoto so nervous? Though he supposed the whole situation was a bit nerve-wracking. Plus Makoto was never a fan of lying. That was probably it.

“So, um, we can tell my family that you made me dinner and then you, uh… What, um, what do you want your confession to have been?” Haru must have looked slightly anxious himself because Makoto quickly continued on. “I mean, you don’t need to come up with the exact wording or anything! Just… Just a general idea of what you said to me that would make us start, um, start dating.”

Haru wasn’t sure he had ever seen Makoto that red before, and he had been there when Nagisa had pushed Makoto into the girl’s bathroom as a joke one morning at school. He was annoyed to feel his own face heating up as he tried to answer his friend’s request. It shouldn’t be this difficult; it’s not like he was actually confessing, right?

“...I said… That I want Makoto to always be by my side… As more than a friend.”

That was actually much easier to come up with than Haru had expected. Though it didn’t make his blush any less bright.

“O-oh, um, that- that sounds good! Um… S-so then I, uh, I guess I a-agreed with that, er, sentiment. And we- we decided to try going out?”

Why was this all so embarrassing? It was just pretend! “Yeah. I guess.”

Makoto let out a long exhale, appearing to relax slightly, and it made Haru feel less edgy in return. “Okay. Good. Then, um, then we can say we got together then and wanted to keep it secret- or maybe not secret? That makes it sound like we were doing something bad… We wanted to keep it to ourselves for awhile just to make sure it’s what we really wanted? How does that sound?”

Haru mumbled an agreement, infinitely glad Makoto was taking the lead on this whole thing despite how reluctant he was about the entire scenario.

“Ah, and then you went to meet your parents for Obon, and you wanted to tell them the, er, good news in person, so then of course we wanted to also tell my parents and… And that’s where we are now! Phew, that wasn’t so bad!”

He hoped his raised brow was enough to relay his incredulity at that sentiment. “We haven’t actually told them yet, you know.”

Makoto shot him a withering look and Haru couldn’t help but smirk in response. “Must you ruin my fleeting moment of happiness?”

Haru chuckled silently before answering, thankful he was in this mess with Makoto. “Sorry to burst your bubble.”

“I’m sure.” Makoto was frowning at him with pursed lips that spoke of annoyance, but Haru was quite familiar with the sparkle of laughter in Makoto’s eyes that told him otherwise. “Anyway, come to dinner tonight, Haru? Best to do it as soon as possible if we want to have a chance at beating your parents to it.”

Immediately sobered by that thought, the smile dropped from Haru’s lips and he looked away, focusing on anything besides Makoto’s resigned face as he attempted to ignore the churning in his stomach. “Sure.”

“But for now… I know we have that English paper to do-” Haru’s groan filled the room- “but I think we can take some time to unwind a bit first.”

Haru’s head whipped back around to look at Makoto, eyes wide and hopeful. Chuckling, Makoto gave him his signature grin, head tilted and everything. It made Haru’s heartbeat pick up again, though he knew it wasn’t from nerves this time- at least not from the fake relationship.

“I left my new racing game here last weekend, right?” Makoto asked, shifting to reach Haru’s electronic cabinet under the tv.

Haru nodded, glad for the distraction from what was turning into a slightly- to put it mildly- larger problem than he had anticipated, and extra glad that it wasn’t homework.

“Ready to lose?” Makoto turned to him with a small smirk, holding a controller out towards Haru as he started up the game.

Haru rolled his eyes at the admittedly truthful taunt. “We’ll see.” He reached for the controller but frowned when Makoto pulled it back just out of reach.

“Oh, I think we will,” Makoto said with a laugh before his expression turned serious. "But first... Please put on some clothes, Haru!"

Haru blinked, looking down and realizing he was still wearing only an apron over his usual- slightly damp- jammers. "Fine," he sighed, pushing himself up from the floor.

"You don't need to sound so put off about it!"

Haru glanced back on his way out of the room to see Makoto shaking his head in fond exasperation as he turned back to the television screen, missing the way Haru’s eyes focused in on his smiling lips for longer than Haru had meant to look.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So oblivious...
> 
> And here ends what I had prewritten for this story, so updates will most likely take a bit more time for awhile. I do have a basic outline for the next part, but I also have two other stories I've been neglecting and a gift drabble to write, as well as some Halloween drabbles I wanted to do, so this story is probably not going to get an update next week, sorry :( Silver lining- I will be writing other MH stuff, so not a complete wash, right? I hope to be back with this one soon though, because next is Makoto and Haru awkwardly revealing they're dating, and I live to torment them, so I am eager to write it ;)


End file.
